


Indissoluble

by RuzukiMay



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Depression, Kidnapping, M/M, More tags will be added later, Other, Swearing, This will get dark, Too many tags tend to spoil the plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 03:14:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6313201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RuzukiMay/pseuds/RuzukiMay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Indissoluble: unable to be destroyed; lasting.</p><p>Bill has been enduring, trapped in a stone body as time passes by. His sentence is made much more bearable by a certain Pine Tree, who has made a habit of visiting him.</p><p>When Dipper is taken, Bill knows that unlike himself, most humans are fragile, breakable. If he wants to get Dipper back with his mind intact, Bill has a time limit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notes at end about story progression and tags.

Time is rather boring, Bill decided, when you are forced to view its passing in a linear way.

 

 

The day after his defeat and entrapment, Stanford and Dipper happened upon the clearing his stone body had landed in. After a brief discussion, with Dipper cautiously nudging his stone body a few times with the toe of his shoe, they declared that it was  _probably_ safe to leave his body there. His mind had been erased, they reasoned, it was unlikely his stone body could bring any harm. 

At the time, he thought it better to let them think that. He knew, with the small sliver of consciousness he had left in this body, the rest of the burnt and scattered remains of himself would eventually return, and he would regain his power. This time, he had a physical body ready and waiting.

What he didn't think about, at the time, was how long it would take.

 

 

Bill was unable to see or hear anything beyond the clearing his stone body lay in. He had no power, and could not interact at all with the world around him. He was trapped in a stone statue, unable to do anything but watch as the days passed by in his clearing in the forest. Boring seconds dragged into minutes, into hours, days, weeks, months, seasons... He had nothing better to do than to count the days.

The more intelligent animals, the magical creatures of the forest, avoided his clearing. He once in a while would spot one on the outskirts, passing by, but never through. The dumber animals, rabbits, deer, would sometimes pass through, and even sometimes sniff at him curiously. They were the only break from the otherwise dull passage of time he was forced to endure. In time, he realized he was growing to cherish these moments. If he could, he would laugh. How fucking _ironic_. How the mighty have fallen, he had tried to destroy this dimension, and now the highlight of his day was a rabbit deciding to hop through his clearing.

He couldn't even be bitter anymore. That had gotten boring fast. 

 

 

After 281 days, something different happened.

Dipper came back.

 

He entered the clearing cautiously, glaring at Bill's stone body with suspicion. He stood still for a few moments, staring, as if expecting something to happen, before he approached. He got closer than he had the last time, with Ford, and unbeknownst to him, Bill stared back with interest. He had a new-looking Pine Tree hat on his head, Bill noted, and was wearing thin wire-framed glasses. He had gotten taller, and was wearing different human-clothes than he had last time Bill had seen him He was clutching a black book close to his chest, but he reached out one hand cautiously towards Bill, and poked his stone hat. After a few moments of waiting, he relaxed. 

"Worried over nothing..." he said to himself, and sat down in the grass. He opened the book, and Bill was able to see a few pages, filled with notes and drawings of familiar magical creatures, as Dipper started flipping through the book. 

 _Oh, are you making new journals, Pine Tree?_ Of course, the boy couldn't hear him, and continued leafing through the book until he found a blank page. He pulled out a pen and wrote in careful print at the top 'Bill Cipher'.

_Ooo, so you want an interview. Well, normally I tell people to make an appointment with my agent, but I think I'll make an exception for you, kid._

Dipper muttered to himself as he wrote, including information he had memorized from the old journals, as well as information he had learned himself during Weirdmageddon. He added information about Bills physical body as well; its shape-shifting capabilities, a sketch of Bill's stone body, and a map to where his clearing was located. And though the kid couldn't hear him, Bill commented on everything. Answering his mumbled questions, pointing out when he wrote inaccurate information, and making fun of his drawings, which even Dipper would admit were not as good as Stanford or Mabel could have drawn.

Bill was surprised when Dipper pulled out a blacklight and a weird looking marker, and added the Summoning Ritual. Even in invisible ink, he was surprised the kid would take the supposed 'risk' of writing down that information.

 _Well, Pine Tree, you sure are thorough, I'll give you that..._ He wondered if someone even could summon him, with his current state. It was possible. It actually might even help, since it would summon all of the scattered and damaged pieces of him floating around as well. That was an idea to keep in mind. Maybe one day this journal would fall into the wrong hands, like Sixer's had fallen into Gideon's.

He watched as Dipper finished up the pages with a few warnings in red pen, and smiled down at his work.

"That should about do it." the boy said to himself, and stuck his pens and blacklight back in his pockets before standing up, brushing the dirt from his shorts. He looked at Bills statue one more time, before turning around and heading off.

 _Come back anytime, Pine Tree! Any time you have questions! Secrets of the Universe... and all that..._ Bill called at the retreating boy, feeling an odd sort of hollowness when the clearing was once again empty. That had been the most fun he has had since he was trapped here, and he wondered if Dipper would ever come back. He didn't have any reason to, aside from paranoia. Too bad Bill didn't have enough of his magic yet to do anything to fuel that paranoia, to make the boy return more often to check on him. _Is this 'loneliness'?_

 

 

Bill was very surprised when Dipper crashed into his clearing a mere three days later.

"Ugh, Mabel needs to _mind her own business_! Why cant she just understand that _I am not interested_ in dating Wendy anymore?" he ranted, kicking at the ground as he stomped into the clearing, before looking up in surprise when he noticed the stone statue before him. He stood still a few moments, before rolling his eyes and stomping forward to sit in front of the statue. After a few more moments, he fell backwards to lay on the grass.

"Whatever... she won't look for me here." he said with a sigh, closing his eyes. 

 _Pine Tree?_ It took Bill a few moments to get over the surprise of Dippers appearance, as well as how quickly he seemed to have lowered his guard. _Hmm, girl problems? Well, if you don't want to date, you can always try **murdering** the next person who asks you. They usually don't bother you after that. If it doesn't work, you can kill a few more and **bathe in their blood**!_

Dipper, of course, didn't respond. He simply laid there in the grass, once in a while muttering angrily under his breath, and a few hours later, when the sun began to set, he got up and left.

 

 

After that, Dipper showing up to the clearing became a semi-regular thing, to which Bill didn't complain. Every few days, he would show up, and talk to himself for a while, or work on a page of his journal, and then leave. He never spoke directly to Bill, nor did he ever give any indication that he could hear Bills voice. He never touched Bill. 

Then, he vanished again for months. Bill knew that the twins parents lived elsewhere, and they only came to Gravity Falls in the summer, so he knew he had a long wait for Dipper to return. If he ever did. Maybe next summer he would not come to Gravity Falls. Or, if he did, maybe he wouldn't come to Bills clearing anymore.

The passage of time seemed even more mundane.

 

 

Fall, winter, spring passed. He endured. He waited and watched. He saw a bear, that was a bit fun, though it wasn't at all ferocious or violent. He gathered a few bits of his scattered power, still not enough to amount to much at all. He resigned himself to the fact that it would likely take centuries to regain his full power.

Summer came, and with it, every day that Dipper did not appear a new feeling grew stronger. One that was close to loneliness, but felt sharp, harsh, almost cruel. Sadness? Despair? Abandonment? It was hard to apply human labels to unfamiliar feelings.

 

And then, one sunny day, his Pine Tree appeared in his clearing once again. He was taller, and had new clothes, no hat this time... and those awful feelings were burnt away as he sat himself in the sun in Bills clearing.

 

 

This year Dipper talked to him. Told him stories about his home, his sister, his own adventures in the forest. He would lean against Bill as he talked, scribbling in what looked like a second journal, and even fell asleep there a few times. He brought Shooting Star with him once, and she decided that Bill's stone self looked far too cold and colorless. After that, she insisted on accompanying Dipper every so often, and brought her knitting needles each visit. She knit him a big yellow sweater, with a gold eye in the center and a brick pattern on the sleeves. Even as Dipper argued that it would rot after the first rain when they were gone, he helped her carefully pull it over his stone hat and arm, and tuck it under his eye ('So that he could see' insisted Mabel). Bill was touched, and wondered if he could gather enough magic to put an enchantment on it to make it endure the seasons before the summer ended.

A few weeks into the summer, he noticed that Dipper wasn't looking well. He looked pale, and his human-clothes look like they're getting bigger on him as the days pass by. When he visited, he would end up falling asleep more often than not, and Bill watched over him, ignoring the part of him that is _worried_ about the kid. More than once, he thought he saw something flicker around the kid as he walked into Bills clearing, but he has no way of investigating.

The summer passed, and again the twins leave. This time, Mabel dragged Dipper out to the clearing with her to say goodbye to Bill. Dipper grumbled that Bill is just a statue and wont notice anyways, but when she elbowed him, he rolled his eyes and says a sarcastic 'See you next summer, Bill' to him as well. Bill appreciated the gesture, and wished he could let her know. He did manage to regain a bit more magic this summer, and so he decided to enchant the sweater she gifted to him. He could take good care of her gift, at least, as a show of appreciation. Even if any possible display of power might worry them more than anything else.

 

 

He watches the seasons pass again, and whenever he gets bored he takes time to admire the sweater. The patterns in the knit, how the snow piles on it, how when the water dries from it after the spring melts, it seems even _more_ fluffy, with the enchantment protecting it from wear.

He realizes that he feels bad for almost killing Mabel. Even after that, she spent time to make him such a lovely gift.

 

 

Summer comes again, and again come the twins to visit him, a bit more grown. Mabel comes on her own sometimes, with a basket of yarn and snacks to knit quietly. She talks to him too, says that once in a while she appreciates a bit of peace and quiet, and that is hard to come by at the Shack. She talks about Question Mark, who runs the shack now, with his wife. She mentions he has a child, a son, who someone she calls 'Abuelita' cares for while the parents work. Bill wonders what happened to Stanley and Ford, neither of the younger twins had mentioned where the old men went when they stopped running the Shack.

Dipper, at first, didn't come by often. He showed up briefly, to check on his sister when she's there, or to pass through the clearing, but it seemed that he was busy adventuring through the woods, looking for more things to discover. But after a month, he started coming by more often. He looked sick again, Bill noted, and he often fell asleep. Sometimes, he didn't wake until after sunset, when Mabel would come along with a flashlight to get him. She looked worried too, Bill noted, and she begins talking to him about Dippers health as she knit him sweaters. She even wondered out loud if Bill had something to do with it, but while she couldn't hear Bills own denials, she reasoned that Dipper had barely come to the clearing at first, and still had shown symptoms.

But Bill felt she might have been on the right track.

 

 

While he knew he hadn't done anything to Dipper, his condition was likely being caused by something supernatural. He had been watching over Dipper this whole time, so he had been able to watch as his symptoms developed. He had little else to do for most of his time, so he had a lot of time to think about what he had seen, and to think about likely causes. The conclusion he reached was one he didn't like.

Was someone _sapping magic_ from _his_ Pine Tree?

He already knew, of course, that Dipper had a large potential for magic. After all, he had seen the kid raise an army of undead from one clumsy spell, on his first try! Anyone with basic knowledge of magical theory would recognize that the marks on the boys forehead indicated that the kid naturally had a huge amount of magic. Being born with magic usually left some sort of mark, and the more potential you had, the more abnormal and obvious the sign it would leave. Twins were abnormal, most naturally had an aptitude for magic, though it was normally a very small amount. Six fingers was abnormal, for humans, and quite distinctive as well. But a perfect constellation marking was unheard of. The fact Dipper had such a marking, on his face, no less, meant that the kid was born with enormous power, and could grow even stronger with training. It had been part of the reason Bill wanted to possess Dipper's body, and why he had often possessed Stanford in the past. Very few human bodies could withstand the flow of Bills own magic, it was easier to find a body that had magic of its own to use instead.

But, of course, that potential could be dangerous. There were many beings like himself that would want to harness, or outright steal, power like that. And, Bill realized, for the past two summers, Dipper hadn't been wearing his usual hat to hide that marking. At least, not when Bill had seen him. He remembered the odd flickers he had seen around Dipper, and growled to himself. 

If he was right, then whatever was sapping his Pine Trees magic was at least a bit afraid of him, and could sense that he was still conscious and alive. He did have a bit of magic available to him, he might be able to scare whatever it was preying on Dipper away. _If they think they can steal_ my _Pine Tree, they have another thing coming!_  And of course Dipper Pines was _his_ , he and his family trapped him, and thus their lives belonged to Bill, to do what he wanted with. And so, Bill watched, and he waited.

 

 

The next time he saw that flicker, at the edge of Dippers shadow as he and Mabel walked into the clearing together, he struck.

" _He's MINE!_ " Bill snarled, and with all his magic he threw a bolt of energy towards the flickering figure clinging to his Pine Trees aura. His voice must have been audible through his power, as both humans flinched in shock, before ducking down as his power flew over their heads.

"Wha- Bill-?" Dipper stammered, but was cut off by a bone-chilling shriek behind him. He and Mabel turned, standing above them was a figure that looked like it was bleeding out of the shadows of their surroundings. Whatever it was, it was clearly not human,  the shapes that could be made out of the dark mass seemed to shift between claws and talons and teeth, writhing as it hissed. It didn't appear to have been damaged by Bills attack at all.

Before Dipper could even begin to try to wrap his head around what was happening, the creature lunged at him. He shouted in alarm, pulling Mabel behind him as he tried to step back, but the creature wrapped a freezing, shadowed hand around his neck and tore him away from his sister with another hiss. He heard Mabel scream, thought he heard Bill's voice shout.

And then they both were gone, leaving the girl and the stone body of a demon alone in the clearing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Gravity Falls fic (obviously), that is a mix of ideas that have been floating around in my head for a while.
> 
> I have only added the bare minimum of tags for now, since my stories tend to write themselves. I do know the overall plot development, but I don't know exactly how its all going to play out. Thus, I don't know if some elements are going to be detailed first person stuff that needs tags, or if those elements are going to not be brought up until later and be more of a 'mention' type tag thing.
> 
> If/when I add new tags to the story, Ill put them at the top of the new chapter.
> 
> Fair warning: This will get dark. And probably pretty fucked up. I have a messed up head. I am not sorry.
> 
> I also realized while writing this, that I have so many bits and pieces introduced in JUST this chapter that can continue to drive the story far past just the initial main plot I planned. I might need to make this a series tbh, to address other things that wont be explored for a while.
> 
> I am also pretty unmotivated at times and I work two jobs, don't expect any schedule or fast updates from me. You might get three chapters in a day and then not see anything for two months. I might get super motivated and finish the first main plot story in a week. Who knows. Not me.
> 
> My summary sounds so... cliche tbh. 
> 
> I don't have a beta. I did re-read it to try to make sure it flowed nicely. I also realized I kept changing tenses in it and tried to fix that. Let me know if I missed stuff that needs edits.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel never gets over it. But its not necessarily a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Tags: Depression

Mabel watched as rain fell down in sheets against the kitchen window, sipping a cup of coffee. The weather was perfect for what they had planned today.

She knew it was risky, and downright _stupid,_ but damn it all, she didn’t care anymore. It had been _five years_ with nothing. No sign, no trace of her brother.

She had brought the topic up to Ford, discussed it all _hypothetically¸_ and he had admitted it _could_ work. He refused to go into detail, but she had her brother’s journals, she didn’t need Ford to tell her how. Dipper was nothing if not thorough.

Stan had agreed to it, it hadn’t been hard to convince him. He knew what it was like to lose a brother.

She had trusted him, in that basement lab eight years ago. This time, he was going to trust that she was doing the right thing.

 

 

 

Her brother, her twin, her _other half_ had vanished without a trace. Mabel didn’t even know what happened. All she could do was run home, and cry as Soos and Melody worked with the local police to comb the surrounding forest. None of them expected to find the boy. Not when she mentioned Bill Cipher was involved.

She didn’t think any of them actually believed her, when she said Bill wasn’t the one who took Dipper. Even she wasn’t sure if she believed it.

A few days later, she turned 16, and for the first time, she had no one to share the experience with.

 

She managed to contact Stan and Ford next time they reached land, months later, and they came running. First, to Piedmont, where she spent hours going over every painful detail of Dippers disappearance, and more hours explaining how she and Dipper had been visiting that clearing every summer.

Both her Grunkles left for Gravity Falls. They never found a trace of Dipper. They also did not find any hint of power from Bill, though Ford found it odd that the sweater she had knit years ago still seemed to be new.

The older twins declared they were getting too old for treasure hunting on the sea, and settled back into Gravity Falls. Mabel knew that they really wanted to continue to look for any clues about Dipper, and to keep an eye on Bill. She knit them both sweaters in gratitude, the first sweaters she had been able to bring herself to make since her brother vanished.

She couldn’t bring herself to return for her last two high school summers. It was too painful to go without Dipper. She was glad when no one tried to convince her to change her mind.

 

She had never realized, how much of her own happiness relied on her brother. She had always thought that she was full of smiles and energy and spirit. Without him, she was empty.

 

She did the bare minimum to pass in school. Her parents didn’t argue when she threw out her college applications. She didn’t care about going to a famous art college anymore. She didn’t care about meeting cute guys, or dating, or her future. How could she be happy, when she didn’t even know if her brother was _alive_?

When she graduated high school, she didn’t stick around for pictures, didn’t say any goodbyes. She kept to herself that summer, though by then none of her old friends in Piedmont bothered inviting her out anymore.

Her 18th birthday was a quiet affair. Her parents took her out to dinner at a nice restaurant, but they all were silent. They all were painfully aware that someone was missing. When she got home, she started packing. It was only when her mother came and asked where she was going, that she even realized what she was doing.

She was going back to Gravity Falls.

 

Her parents didn’t argue. They never did, anymore. She called Stan and Soos, both were ecstatic that she wanted to come live with them, and both promised that the attic would be cleared out by the time she arrived. More likely Stan would have Soos do it, while he sat and watched TV. She wished she could have a different room, the attic had been _theirs_ , she didn’t want to be alone. But she knew that the attic was the only free room they had, so she didn’t complain.

By the next day, she had packed away her life into a rented moving van, hugged her parents goodbye, and was on the road back to Gravity Falls.

 

 

She moved in, and started working for Soos at the Mystery Shack again. It felt as if she never left. But even so, it was obvious that someone was missing. She was only half of a set, after all, and the others were used to having only one around. Soos would make a joke that was meant for Dipper’s sense of humor, Ford would try to boast about some nerdy science thing that went over her head, or Stan would grab her for a one armed hug and reach the other instinctively for another person. But over time, these incidents grew less, and while a part of Mabel desperately wanted everyone to cling to it, to not _forget about him_ , everyone adjusted.

 

Three years passed. Mabel worked at the shack, played with Soos’s growing son, rekindled her friendships, and started learning how to be happy again despite the pain. But she never gave up. She searched the forest every spare moment, bringing Wendy, Candy, or Grenda with her whenever she had the chance. Pacifica refused to go for the first few months, but she eventually gave in as well, and even bought herself some stylish hiking boots for the excursions. The five of them grew to know the forest better than most other locals, better even than Ford, and Mabel easily befriended most of the magical creatures living among them.

It took her a year to get the courage to visit Bills clearing again. He looked just how she had left him, stone hand outstretched and adorned with a yellow and gold sweater. She noted with surprise that it really did still look new. Maybe he liked it.

She began talking to Bill again, visiting him often. She talked about anything she could think of, trying to get _some_ reaction out of him. She asked him about her brother. She cried, she begged, she even took his hand one time in a fit of despair, desperate to make a deal. Nothing worked.

But she didn’t only look around the forest. She knew that if the police, Stan, and Ford hadn’t found her brother in the first two years of searching, she didn’t have much luck. And none of the magical creatures of the forest had reported seeing him, either.

 

Soos’ Abuelita died, and Stan and Mabel took turns babysitting Soos’ son, while he and Melody worked. But the boy was well behaved, and didn’t require a lot of attention, and so Mabel found herself with a lot of extra time on her hands. It felt wasteful to just sit around and watch children’s shows with Junior. So, she decided to research.

She had no idea what sort of creature it was that took her brother, but she was almost positive it was _not_ Bill. The internet had all sorts of potential creatures, Demons, Goblins, Faeries, Spirits, Devils, Shades, Gods… she had nothing more than a few seconds of a terrifying memory to go on, and she didn’t feel like she was getting anywhere, but it was better than doing nothing at all.

 

One day, as she was browsing the books in Fords study, she came across Dippers journals.

At first it was nostalgia that lead her to browse through the pages. She smiled fondly as she remembered their shared adventures, her eyes passing over letters written with care, her fingers tracing over messy sketches. She laughed as she came across an entry detailing the gnomes, she could almost hear his voice as she read the page, disgruntled that the creatures dare try to kidnap and marry his sister.

She noticed that he included pages for any sort of supernatural occurrences and creatures he came across. She found a page for the Summerween Trickster, the weird mailbox in the middle of the forest, and even a page about Unicorns, where he had written everything she had told him in careful detail.

Her smile fell as she came across a section about Bill Cipher.

Bill Cipher was not a being that could be described with just a page or two. Dipper had filled six with information, observations, and a few sketches. All of the sketches had the eye crossed out in red pen. He even included a map to the clearing that contained Bills statue. In red, he had written a bold warning; “Do not touch the statues hand!”

With a fond smile, she found a pen, and added a note: “Trying to make a deal with the statue does not work. Confirmed!”

She didn’t think he would mind if she added a few details. She had learned a lot with all of her hikes, after all.

 

 

Her 21st birthday came. Her friends knew by now that she didn’t like parties. Her family made no mention of it. The only indication that anyone even realized was when Stan offered her a beer that evening, and he laughed as she sputtered at the taste. Wendy came by the next day with an assortment of other alcoholic drinks, announcing that it was time to corrupt Mabel’s innocence. Mabel found she liked the sweeter drinks Wendy mixed, and that being tipsy was actually pretty fun. She felt like it was the first birthday she actually almost enjoyed since her awful 16th.

 

It took far too long for it to occur to her that she should look over the journals with a blacklight. In her defense, she hadn’t seen the original journals since she was 12, and she had never seen Dipper adding any secret text to the new ones.

Dipper was more thorough than she had originally thought. Making a deal with the stone body of a mind demon may not have worked, but summoning one had a much greater potential to work.

 

Bill was destroyed while in Stanley’s mind. If anyone had a chance of summoning him, it would be Stan, Mabel reasoned. She ran the idea by Ford, who agreed that it was hypothetically possible, while warning her with every other breath not to try. She found it easy to agree. _She_ wouldn’t try to summon him. But she never promised to not leave the journal open to the summoning page, with the blacklight on top of it, in Stan’s bedroom.

Stan got the hint. He knew it was her who left the journal, of course, and was easily convinced. And so they planned, and waited for the opportunity.

 

 

 

Now, she sat at the table, drinking coffee while watching the rain, trying to act casual while waiting. She had just heard Ford leave, it was his turn to get groceries this week. The Shack was closed for the day, so Soos and Melody had taken Junior to play laser tag. They had decided to do the summoning in her room in the attic, and she had all the materials ready. She was just waiting for the all-clear from Stan.

She hoped it worked. It _had_ to work. They had no other options. _Five years_ and they were still at square one. She needed to know what happened, _why_ it had happened. _Why Dipper_?

Even if Dipper was long dead… she needed to know. Because until she knew, that sliver of hope would mean she could never stop looking.

 

“All clear, pumpkin.” She heard behind her, and turned her head away from the grey skies outside the window to see her Grunkle standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He was dressed nicer than she had seen in a long time, he had pulled out one of his old ‘Mr. Mystery’ suits from before he retired. Her lips twitched into a smile, and he gave a half grin back.

“I thought I should at least be dressed well, if that damn demon does show up.”

“Yea, that’s a good idea.” She agreed, looking down at herself. She was wearing a grey sweatshirt, black yoga pants, her long hair in a messy bun. She was probably pale, and had dark circles under her eyes.

“Bill probably won’t even recognize me.” She said with an attempt at a light laugh, and stood. “Oh well. Can’t always be sunshine and sweaters. Let’s get this show on the road.” She felt her hands shaking a bit, but held her head high as she passed Stan, and lead the way up the stairs.

 

In her room, she pushed aside the decorative rug covering the bare floorboards, and pulled out a shopping bag from underneath her bed. She started laying out candles as Stan sat beside her, pulling a piece of lined notebook paper out of his pocket on which she had copied the summoning ritual. His lips moved as he read through the words silently, though she wasn’t anywhere near as worried as he was about getting the pronunciation right. If Gideon and Dipper could do these spells at 10 and 12, she was sure that this sort of magic relied on something more than mere pronunciation to work.

Bills ritual seemed for too simple, for the type of powerful creature it could summon. She wondered if all demons were so easy to call forth. She might have to look into that, if this didn’t work. She was already this desperate, after all.

“I’m done.” She said, her voice a whisper. She blew out the match, and slid away on her knees from the circle of lit candles, so Stan had room to kneel in front of it. Her hands were shaking more now, and Stan paused to take hold of one.

“Are you scared? Scared that he will come back?” he asked in a worried voice, his eyes searching her face. He would stop if she didn’t want this.

“I’m more scared that he won’t. We don’t have any other clues… this _has_ to work, he _knows_ something, Stan!” She felt like she was going to cry, but she couldn’t. Not yet. There was still hope.

“Well… let’s do this then. And hope Ford doesn’t kill us if it works.” He chuckled, and let go of her hand, and mussed up her hair playfully in an attempt to ease her tension. “You ready, pumpkin?”

She met his eyes and gave a nod, and he nodded back.

 

“ _Triangulum, entangulum. Vene foris dominus mentium. Vene foris videntis omnium!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cant believe how much attention this has already gotten, only a half a day after I posted it.
> 
> If anyone was wondering about the title, I'm awful with titles. So I was like "I could just find an obscure word that has a definition that fits the theme of the story" and lo and behold I found one.  
> Not even gonna bother with chapter titles. Even if the first one is a bit too much for a 'prologue'... whatever. That is what its called now. lol
> 
> Its raining where I live. I thought that was pretty appropriate for the tone of this chapter. I hope the timeline of this chapter isn't too confusing, Its supposed to be Mabel looking at the rain and kind of reminiscing about the past 5 years. So its starts with her in the present and then a huge chunk is basically just flashback.  
> Its depressing, but its not all bad. She copes in her own way, finds some new ways to be happy, learns new things.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel and Stan attempt to summon a certain demon.

The silence of the room somehow seemed louder than the incantation Stan had spoken.

Mabel took a breath, slowly. Waiting. _It_ had _to have worked._

Stan looked down at the page in his hands, and back up at her.

 _No, it **had to work**_. Her eyes stung, her breath caught in her throat.

**_It had to work!_ **

“Mabel, sweetie-“ Stan started, and she shook her head, and he let his voice die.

“Bill… please.” She whispered as a tear fell. _Dipper!_

 

And the room exploded.

 

 

When that figure grabbed Dipper, Bill screamed. He wasn’t sure why, when he thought about it later. Rage, that his Pine Tree had been taken from _right in front of him._ Anger, at his own powerlessness. Despair, in the moment that the figure vanished, he knew that he would never see the kid again.

He watched as a few of the braver humans searched for the boy around his clearing. Of course, they found nothing.

Mabel didn’t return.

Time grew slow again, and dragged on. Now, more than ever, he was aware of the shackles of his stone body. He grew more proactive in trying to retrieve the pieces of his energy, casting his magic out in hopes that it would happen to latch onto some piece of him. But even if he exhausted his magic, he always kept enough to care for his sweater. It was the only thing he had left.

 

The older Pines twins gave him a visit. Stanley didn’t seem to be afraid of him, marching into the clearing as if he owned it. Stanford was more cautious, and was clearly unnerved by the state of the sweater Mabel had given him. Bill didn’t care. It wasn’t like Ford could do anything to stop him from regaining his powers, now that Pine Tree was gone. It took a while to imprint a zodiac symbol into a person’s being, it would take them a while to replace the Pine Tree in his banishment spell. Maybe banishing Bill back to his own dimension would help, it could banish all the traces of his energy.

But neither seemed to have any idea of what to do about Bill. And they left and he was alone again.

 

Seasons passed, and Bill realized halfway through the next summer that Mabel was probably not coming back.

Stanley and Stanford came by once in a while, always together, to check on him. But they never stayed long, and they never talked to him.

He was getting lonely again.

 

 

Years passed, Bill realized that he had stopped counting the days that he had been trapped back during that first summer Dipper visited him. He lost track of how long ago that was now. He hasn’t seen Mabel in a few summers. She was likely almost at the age that humans considered being an adult, now. She probably didn't have summer vacations anymore. She probably wasn’t coming back.

 

 

But one day, she did.

She looked different, he almost wouldn't have recognized her. It was odd how fast young humans could change their physical appearance. But he could tell, as she knelt in front of him and poked at his sweater, that this was Shooting Star. 

Her brothers disappearance may have clouded her light, but he could see that she was still a shining Star.

 

She started visiting again, most of the time she talked about everyday things. She seemed to want to think about anything but her missing brother.

But, he knew that her brother was far from forgotten. The times she _did_ talk about him were almost made him feel _pain_. And not in a fun way. The first time she mentioned Pine Tree at all, she had come to the clearing crying. In tears, she ranted about how hard she was working, how frustrating it was that she was still getting nowhere. How she had thought she found a lead, and it had ended up being another dead end.

He felt like he could relate, in a way. He was frustrated, watching from the sidelines, knowing it would be at least a century before he regained enough power to even try to help. By then, they wouldn't need his help, both twins would be dead.

It grew even more frustrating, when another day she arrived, again in tears, begging him for answers. She confirmed that she _had_ heard his voice, that day, and begged him to talk to her again. And he couldn't, not in the way she wanted. The only reason they had heard him that day was because he had stricken out with his magic in anger, his words carried by the magic and emotion of the moment. There was no way to recreate that event, or to speak long enough to answer her questions.

He was forced to watch on in silence as time passed, and while most visits she pretended to be fine, the ones where she came to him in tears grew more and more frequent.

Begging, bargaining, she even took his hand, and for an excited moment he had expected _something_ to happen. But, his body stayed stone, and he felt silly for expecting otherwise. He couldn't forge a deal when most of his being wasn't even _there_.

He worried for her, that she would do something reckless. He realized it had been a long time since he had worried about someones well-being.

She admitted to him one day that she was beginning to doubt he was even alive, after so long. Bill knew Dipper likely _was_ alive, as he had been taken for his magic potential. The question was how much of his sanity would remain. He didn't think she would find that reassuring.

 

 

 

The day had seemed like another boring rainy day. Mabel never came when it rained, and most of the forest animals kept to their shelters, so Bill had nothing better to do than to stare at the flat, grey sky, and think.

He felt something hook and pull on his energy.

 _What the..._ he pulled himself out of his thoughts and paid more attention. It felt like something was trying to pull him out of the statue. He resisted, at first, confused and a tad afraid.

What was going on? Was something trying to take his power?

He heard words on the wind, a familiar incantation. _A summoning...?_

He was being summoned?

He still hesitated a moment, if he left now, he would leave his physical body here, unprotected. He had worked for so long to get that, and after the summoning was over, he would be sent back to the Nightmare Realm... And his sweater would get ruined.

But he would regain his power, he could always come back, he could help...

 _"Bill... please."_ he heard a voice whisper. Mabel's voice.

Mabel was there, she was summoning him.

Bill let go, letting himself be taken, and was violently reunited with the rest of his power as he appeared in a familiar attic room.

 

 

Mabel and Stan both coughed, sitting up from where they were thrown.

She didn't remember the summoning being that loud, when Gideon had done it, all those years ago. She looked around the room, the explosion of power had thrown her and Stan back a few feet, and blew out the glass of the window. The room was a mess, everything thrown away from the center of the room.

And there, floating above the circle of candles, that had oddly not moved at all, was a familiar yellow triangle demon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some may think I'm making Bill care a little TOO much. But I'm of the opinion that Demons have the same emotional capabilities as any other creatures do, including fondness and love. They just have different morals than humans.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan and Mabel summon a demon and get some information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not too happy with this chapter, I feel like it still needs work… But I wanted to get it out because you guys have been waiting forever…
> 
> I realize I should have added a swearing tag lol. These characters are adults, there will be swearing. 
> 
> Also, previously, entire chapters have been from a single character's perspective, since there was a lot to cover… but that won't be the case for many future chapters.  
> And Bills speech has lots of formatting. That's intentional.

If Stan was being honest with himself, he really hadn't expected anything to happen. Sure, he did agree that _if_ they managed to summon Bill, and _if_ they could convince him to help, it could be the lead they need to finally find Dipper. He could understand why Mabel was getting desperate, with how much time had passed. He had been forced to wait _thirty years_ to rescue his own brother, knowing that every minute increased the chance that his brother would be dead. But, summoning the damned _one-eyed space demon_ , who had every reason to seek revenge on the Pines family, seemed beyond risky. But he of all people couldn't fault her on that. He had ignored the journals warnings about the portal having the capability of tearing the _world_ apart, to rescue his brother. And so, here they were.

 

What he was really worried about was how to hide this from Ford. The room was a mess, as if they had summoned a small bomb. Even the window had been shattered. _We are so fucked…_ he thought, eyeing the laughing demon who floated in the center of the destruction.

 

“Hey, demon. Why did this summoning thing wreck the room?” He gestured around them. “We kind of need to keep this on the down-low, you know? If you don't want Ford to find out, and find a more permanent ways of killing you, maybe you could… fix it with like, magic or some shit?”

 

Mabel opened her mouth, annoyed that they weren't asking about Dipper first thing. But as Stan's words sunk in, she realized he had a good point. Ford not finding out about this _was_ a pretty big priority.

“Oh, right, I don't know what went wrong, this didn't happen when Gideon summoned you… but this is a mess, we really want to not let everyone know about this just yet, Bill,” she added.

 

“HAH! Too late for **that**! But you didn't do the _summoning_ wrong, you did everything RIGHT! I'm actually **pretty** IMPRESSED, Fez!” Stan opened his mouth, but Bill cut him off.

“Ol’ Sixer has put up **dozens** of protections around this _broken down shack_ of yours over the years. Protections that would keep _beings like me_ from entering normally. But, you **summoned me** from the INSIDE. And in doing so, all those protections SHATTERED! Pretty cool, right? You _finally_ beat your brother at something besides **brawn**.” He floated over to the shattered window, inspecting the glass.   
“The force of the **wards** BREAKING is what destroyed the room. I _could_ fix it… but no way Fordsie isn't going to notice that all his _precious wards_ have been **violently** DESTROYED. He probably _felt it_ , wherever he is. His magic is _tied up_ into them, you know. He is probably _racing home_ as we speak.” Bill sounded thrilled at the thought.

 

“Ok, well, in that case, we need to talk business-” Mabel started, looking towards the window anxiously, but was cut off.

 

“Yes, down to _business_ , Shooting Star. Time is always moving forward, with you humans. I tried to fix that, but we all know how that ended.”

 

Mabel and Stan glanced at each other, but neither said anything.   
  
“ _Anyways_ , I assume you summoned me to ask about **Pine Tree**?” Bill continued, seemingly oblivious to the suddenly tense atmosphere.

 

“Yes... “ Mabel said. She was so nervous she was shaking. What information could Bill give them? What would he ask for in return?

 

Stan put a hand on her shoulder, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

 

“Well, I _suppose_ I can give you **some** information and tell you what I know at the MOMENT, without making a deal. **Repayment** for the _sweater_ , you know?” He blinked at Mabel, or was it supposed to be a wink? “I've been keeping an EYE ON THINGS from that clearing, and I've had **lots of time** to _think_.”

 

“Yes, _please_ Bill. Any information at all...” This was more than Mabel had dared to hope for, and she was thanking her younger self for that impulsive decision to make that sweater. And if the information wasn't enough, or was impossible to act on… she could still attempt a deal.

 

“WELL THEN, the **bad** news is that your brother is _probably_ **not dead** …”

 

“Wait… he _isn't_ dead? Why is that _bad_?” Stan cut in.

 

“Because he probably _wishes_ he were dead. The creature that took him is _probably_ keeping him alive to feed off his **magic** …”

 

“ _Magic_?” Mabel cut in. Bill ignored her.

 

“I didn't get a good look, but I _think_ I recognized the creature that took him. It originates from another dimension, one that is similar in characteristics to the Mindscape. I know there is one that has been TRAPPED in this dimension, and has been _lurking_ _around_ this forest for a **few decades** , scaring humans and _feeding_ off the dregs of their magic. Sixer tried to **find it** , but this creature is an **expert** at _avoiding detection_. But he DID make up some **stupid name** and put it in one of his Journals.”

 

“He did? He may still have information on it then. Which Journal was it? Do you remember what he called the monster?” Stan asked. He could ask Ford about what he knew. Maybe Dipper had notes on the creature as well, if it was an entry he had read…

 

“Well, he didn't call it by its PROPER name, but it's not a word you can _pronounce_ with your _limited human_ **vocal range** . So I didn't bother **remembering** the dumb name he used. But I do know he put it in the THIRD Journal, I remember watching PINE TREE try to find the creature during his little _investigations_ that **first summer**.”

 

Stan looked at Mabel, and she shrugged.

 

“I don't remember everything we did that summer, I would have to go back and look at my scrapbook and videos. I can look through Dippers notes, too. If we didn't find it, it can't be that hard to narrow down…”

 

“Okay, so then we might be able to find out _what_ took Dipper, and _why_ …” Stan said, “but you don't have any information on where he may be?”

 

“ **Nope!** That would be a lot more _complicated_ , and would require a DEAL. If I'm right about the creature that took him, and _I'm_ _usually right_ , it would be **nearly impossible** for you to track him, even with this _free information_. This creature has been _stalking_ him and _sapping his magic_ for a few YEARS before it took him, so it had enough magic to take him **anywhere** on earth. Or even possibly _another_ DIMENSION.”

 

“So… this information doesn't really help us then.” Mabel's voice shook, and she bowed her head, struggling to hold back tears. “We need to make a deal to find him.”

 

“ _That's right_ , Shooting Star. But it's _worth it_ , right? He may be **better off dead** , but you're **glad** he's alive, RIGHT? So, ready to MAKE A DEAL?”

 

Mabel wiped her eyes and lifted her head. She glanced at Stan, and when he gave her a nod, she took a deep breath, and turned to Bill.

 

“Yes, I'm ready to make a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to mention that I do sometimes answer comments, and the things I say there might be useful to keep in mind when reading this. I will make clarifications there, if needed, that I may forget to put in later chapters… I try not to edit chapters too much once I post them. If I do edit at all, I would try to keep it to only minor edits for grammar or flow, so people don't need to re-read previous chapters… so yea. Me clarifying stuff in comments is a thing.
> 
> Anyways, sorry this took so long. Edited it like 8 times because I was never happy with it. Finally decided to just post it and deal with it. I also kept getting distracted with stuff... (Pokemon Go, CipherHunt, life, etc)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Details of the deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write out the details of the deal before I forgot them… and boom I suddenly had a chapter.  
> I'm pretty sure Stan would never fall for Bills scams, and Mabel would be wary of Bill's wording after he tricked Dipper with wordplay… so they tag-team Bill and now an entire chapter is just the deal. (I also am sick of characters jumping into obviously badly worded deals. I literally screamed at Dipper when I first saw Sock Opera, I KNEW what Bill meant by ‘puppet’. This may be why demons dont make deals with me.)
> 
>  
> 
> I got a Beta-reader for this one because I was afraid there was too much dialogue lol. So, beta-read by Ameknight! Thanks!
> 
> Minor edits to the entire story for continuity, grammar, flow, formatting, etc. on 11/1/16.

“Woah, woah. Hang on a minute!” Stan cried, stepping between Mabel and Bill. “Nice try, One-Eye, but you aren't gonna fool me. No way we are making a deal unless we get the terms laid out, nice and clear.”

 

“ _Yeesh_ , relax. The deal is pretty **simple** , I do _you_ a favor by helping you find _Pine Tree_ , and you do ME a favor! Easy!” Bill vanished, and Stan looked around, not wanting the demon out of his sight. Bill reappeared next to Mabel a second later. “Jeez, these _con men_ , **almost** as bad as _lawyers_ , am I right?” He jabbed her in the side with an elbow, and she winced, stepping back before he could jab her again.

 

“Actually, Bill, I would like to know the details. How _exactly_ will you help with finding Dipper, and what favor do you want in return?” Mabel was glad she didn’t attempt this summoning on her own. If Stan hadn't been here, she may have been tricked into a bad deal, just like her twin had been so long ago…

 

“Well _sorry_ , I thought you were in a **hurry**? Don't you want to get this done before SIXER gets back?” He leaned on his cane midair, meeting the two humans stares for a few moments, before shrugging. “Fine, sheesh.” _Con men are_ **_just_ ** _as bad as lawyers…_ He snapped his finger, and a roll of parchment appeared in midair, a quill hovering over it.

 

“Well, let's do this PROPERLY then. _Your terms_ are that you require my _assistance_ with **locating Pine Tree** … specifically, Mason “Dipper” Pines if we want to get _technical_ , and you require me to outline what that _assistance_ may include BEFORE we complete the deal.”

 

Mabel was distracted by the quill scribbling on the paper, but when Bill paused, she turned her attention back to him and nodded.

 

“Since it is _unlikely_ that the **creature** has Pine Tree in any location where I can use my EYES, what I _could_ do is scan **every living mind** in _every dimension_ and locate Pine Tree that way. I would have to look at _every mind_ carefully, since his mind will likely have **changed**. It would take a LONG TIME and be very **boring**. If Pine Tree is _not in this dimension_ , it could take **centuries**.”

 

“Wait, then you can't…” Stan started angrily, but Bill held up a hand to cut him off.

 

“That is NOT the _most efficient way_ to find him, but that's how I would have to do it if I searched _alone_. I have _another idea_ that would work BETTER. I can teach **Shooting Star** how to find him.”

 

“Me? How could I find him faster than you? I've been looking for years!” she objected. Did Bill think she hadn't already exhausted every resource, before resorting to summoning him?

 

“You have a **connection** to him, both through _blood_ and through MAGIC. If I teach you _tracking_ and _teleportation_ , you could build a spell to **teleport yourself** to _wherever he is_ , even if he is in another DIMENSION!” he floated closer, and tapped her forehead, his eye squinting up as if he were smirking.

“But don't think you can just WALK AWAY right now with that information and try to find those spells **yourself**. There are _no longer_ any records or memory of this kind of magic in your world. **Dimensional magic** has been lost to humans for _fifteen thousand years_. Even simple, _single-planet_ tracking and teleportation spells were lost over **two thousand** years ago. BUT…” He floated above the two and snapped his finger, a dusty looking scroll appearing in midair. “I can _easily_ retrieve this lost knowledge, and teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about these magics, if you **accept** this deal.” With another snap, the scroll vanished.

 

“Of course, this sort of magic is **top-tier stuff**. Mages could train their ENTIRE PUNY LIVES and struggle to teleport to the _next room_. You have the advantage of natural ability, but you will still need intensive **one-on-one training** to learn this quickly.”

 

“Natural ability?” Mabel questioned, but Bill ignored her and continued speaking.  
  
“I am sure that with MY assistance, you can be **hopping dimensions** in less than a year! But, in order for me to _train you_ , I need to be able to access this realm **at all times**. I can't _train you_ if I'm not here to keep you from making mistakes and **blowing** the TOWN up.”

 

“What, so _that's_ the favor you want? Opening the rift for you again? Starting another Weirdmageddon?” Stan snapped.

 

“Relax! No need for a _rift_ , I **already** have a physical body in this dimension! You already **freed me** from it from summoning me _here_ , all you have to do is summon me at the _clearing_ , and I can **hop back in**! It'll be _good as new_! And this qualifies as a _requirement_ for me to complete **your** side of the deal, so I _still_ get my **favor**.”

 

“Okay then, Bill. What is your favor?” Mabel asked wearily. She wasn't sure she liked the sound of this, but at least Bill seemed to be straightforward about the details. He almost seemed like a completely different demon. She wondered if he had mellowed out during his time as a statue, or if he had realized they were too wary to fall for his tricks and had decided not to bother trying.

 

“Once I have **completed** _your_ demands, and helped you _locate_ your brother, alive OR dead... I want you to allow me to KEEP my _physical body_ and live in this dimension for as _long as I wish_. And for the duration of this **deal** , as long as I am in _this dimension_ , you provide me whatever bodies need to stay _well maintained_.”

 

“Wait just one second, if you think I'm going to let your triangle ass live here-”

“What does that even _mean,_ what do you _need_ ? Do you eat _babies_ , or-” _  
_ Mabel and Stan both protested, talking over each other, and Bill snapped his fingers to silence them. They were running out of time, and he didn't want Stanford to burst in and ruin this deal for him.

 

“ **Listen** , meat bags. Last time I visited the Nightmare Realm, it was **falling apart**. When this summoning ends, I'll be sent _right back there_. That space is **collapsing** , and I don't want to be there to witness _first-hand_ what happens to anything **living** in it when it _implodes_. I _tried_ to take over this dimension to **get out**.” he explained.  
“That's **all I want**. If it makes your _conscience_ feel better, I will even _include_ in the deal that I will leave your dimension **alone** … you can have your **lame rules** if you want. But I need a place to **lie low** until I can find _another dimension_ to _call my own_.”

 

Mabel raised her hand in the air, and Bill snapped his fingers so she could speak.

 

“So… you just want to live here? Like, in the _Shack_ , with _us_? And you won't hurt anyone, or mentally traumatize anyone, or break laws?” She found it hard to believe that he wanted to just live here, especially with Ford under the same roof...  
  
“That's right! Well, give me some _leeway_ with breaking laws, never know if we need to break a SILLY one like ' _no trespassing_ ' for the sake of **finding Pine Tree**. Still, pretty _sweet deal_ for **you** guys, in _my_ opinion. Get my _help_ , and the _pleasure_ of my **company**!”

 

“Yea, yea…” Realistically, this deal may not be too terrible. She probably could get along with Bill, and live with him Dippers sake. If she tried very hard. Stan would deal with it, and could hopefully keep Ford pacified... Soos probably would gladly deal with living with Bill if it meant a possibility of rescuing Dipper, and Melody and Junior had no prior experiences with Bill. She realized she could turn this situation in their favor as well. _Maybe I've been living with Stan too long, but lets see how much I can get from him_.  
“But, if you lived here, it would be bad for you if anything bad happened to us, right?” she ventured. “Or to the Shack itself? So would you protect us while you're here, like if a monster attacked? Or.... if we rescue Dipper but that thing comes after him again? You would protect him too, if something tries to come after him?”

 

“Hmm..” Bill thought for a few moments, rubbing a hand under his eye. “Yea, I **see** what you mean. I cant _cash_ that **favor** if you're DEAD, right? Sure, I'll throw that in. You drive a _hard bargain_ , Shooting Star.” Maybe the deal was a little _too_ much in their favor… but he really did not have time to argue over the fairness of this deal. If promising protection would make them accept, he could live with it. He did _not_ want to spend much time in the Nightmare Realm, and he didn't want to have to drag out negotiations over several summonings… “Just make sure to _summon me_ to my physical body **as soon as possible** , so I can get _right on that_.”

 

“And what exactly do you need to… 'maintain' your body? You don't need to like, eat blood and guts, right?”

 

“I just need whatever an **average** HUMAN would need to _survive_. Like, good food, alcohol, a _snazzy wardrobe_ , feather bed… **standard** stuff!”

 

“Okay then….?” She decided that now was not the time to question why Bill needed _human_ stuff. It was a suspiciously reasonable request, but she didn't want to look into it and make him reconsider. And, she noted that Bill obviously didn't know what humans ‘needed’, so by his own wording, all they _had_ to do was give him the basics. The deal was a good one… but they were running out of time. She needed to wrap this up, on their terms. Stan was still rendered mute with Bill's magic, so it was up to her to try to keep this deal in their favor.

  
“So then,” she started. “The deal is that I will summon you to your physical body. Then, you will help us find Dipper, including teaching me magic. You will protect the shack, and me, my family, and my friends from harm. And you will protect Dipper from the creature once we find him. You will not attempt to cause any physical or mental harm on any being, unless in self defense or in defense of those under your protection. You will not attempt to cause any Weirdmageddons, rifts, overall damage our dimension... or break laws unless out of necessity. In return, we will let you stay here and provide room and board and other human necessities. And once you have completed your side of the agreement, we will continue providing until you leave to find another dimension, and you will continue to protect us. Deal?” She held out a hand, noting that the quill scribbled out what was previously recorded, and wrote down the new wording of the deal.

 

Bill wanted to protest her changing the wording on some of the terms, but the sound of tires screeching into the parking lot in front of the Shack alerted the group that they were out of time. _Whatever_ , it sounded good enough, and it had the important parts.

 

“ **Deal** , Shooting Star.” he said, closing his hand over hers, blue fire engulfing their joined hands to seal the deal. The parchment glowed gold, before vanishing in blue flames.

 

A car door slammed, and he snapped his fingers, freeing Stan from his silencing spell.

 

“Looks like I've gotta _run_ , but I'll **see** you two REAL SOON. Summon me at the clearing _tonight_! And _remember_ , the universe is a hologram, reality is an illusion, buy gold, **bye**!” He vanished, and color returned to the room.

 

A few moments later, they could hear Ford running through the house below, yelling their names in panic, and they scrambled to hide the evidence of their summoning. They had no idea how to explain the room or the wards, but they silently agreed it was best Ford didn't know of their deal for the time being.


End file.
